


they'll hang us in the louvre (down the back, but who cares, still the louvre)

by Nightblaze



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Post 1x10, i can and will pioneer this ship if needed, jeffrey is an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28138002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightblaze/pseuds/Nightblaze
Summary: leah and fatin toe the line between "friends" and "something more" very, very closely.
Relationships: Leah Rilke/Fatin Jadmani
Comments: 34
Kudos: 371





	they'll hang us in the louvre (down the back, but who cares, still the louvre)

**Author's Note:**

> cant believe i saw one (1) fanvid about leatin and then didnt study for my midterms so i could write a fic for them

It’s not like they didn’t know that they were doing it.

At least, Leah didn’t think that was the case. Fatin always sat closer to her than necessary, started to snuggle up to her against the chill of the night wind, taking her hand while walking in the woods. Leah didn’t mind. She would lean back against her, wrap her arms around her in the night, squeeze her hand and smile. It was too much not to be intentional.

It was hard to tell when it had started. Maybe after the shark attack when they were all aching for comfort and Fatin held Leah while she shook. Maybe when Leah tried to walk into the ocean and for a moment before they both started crying she thought Fatin was going to kiss her. Maybe the moment Leah was picking at her skin and Fatin reached over to stop her from hurting herself. Maybe after Fatin disappeared and Leah realized how much she was afraid of losing her.

Maybe that didn’t matter anymore. The point was, it didn’t feel like it was just friendship. And it didn’t feel like an accident.

Fatin didn’t say anything. Leah didn’t, either, just in case it would break something. It was wonderful to feel  _ wanted,  _ even in this obscure, uncertain way. It was something she hadn’t really felt since Jeffrey and some days, she was realizing, the love she felt for him was more like distress. Or fear that she would be nothing without him.

It wasn’t like that with Fatin. It was beautiful. There was no pressure, no expectations, no creepy drunk texts. Just soft smiles Leah saw in her peripheral vision, electric shocks she felt through her whole body when they made eye contact, aches in her chest soothed only when they brushed hands.

It was a week after they finally  _ (finally)  _ left the interview center and Leah made plans with Fatin to grab coffee at one of the many hipster cafes that populated the area. For a moment after sending the text, she wondered if it sounded too much like a date, but Fatin sent back a string of fifteen emojis that only partially made sense. It was such a Fatin thing to do, and there was a giddiness in her heart that she knew that. That she knew her.

They held hands underneath the table the entire time they sat there.

“You’re so annoying,” Leah huffed when Fatin stole part of a cookie from her.

“Ah, but you love me,” Fatin joked. Leah could feel her face flush as she struggled to find something to say. Fatin gave her hand a squeeze and grinned at her just before the panic began to set in. Leah could breathe again.

It should have scared her, how true it felt. That she might love Fatin. But it wasn’t scary. Maybe surprising, and even that was a stretch. It was just true.

A week later, Fatin dragged Leah out to a club. Leah had never really been fond of parties or clubbing, but Fatin promised she wouldn’t leave her alone, so she went along with it.

The club was uncomfortably hot and the music was so loud it was almost painful. Fatin pulled Leah along, through the sweaty bodies and onto the dance floor.

Fatin looked like she belonged there, swaying and moving to the beat without a care in the world. Leah was so out of place. She was frozen and the smell of the place was giving her a headache and she couldn’t focus on anything else. She didn’t even notice she was picking at her arm until Fatin’s warm hand stopped her.

“Are you okay?” Fatin was quiet and concerned, a stark contrast to the club and Leah could almost cry at the question.

“Can we go?”

They ended up in Leah’s room back at her house, laying together on the bed. Leah’s mother was playing classical music like she always did when she was cleaning and it echoed up the stairs and through the door.

“Sorry for making you leave,” Leah whispered.

“Don’t apologize, it’s okay,” Fatin said quietly and they returned to the comfortable silence. The music from downstairs faded and a new song began. Something quiet and peaceful. Leah didn’t know much about music, but she was sure she’d heard this before. It was nice.

“Oh my  _ God,  _ I love this piece,” Fatin sighed.

Leah turned her head to look at her. “Really?”

“Yeah! It’s a piano trio by Brahms. I played it for a recording a few years ago. Kind of a boring part for me, but it’s beautiful.” She stood up. “Hey, wanna dance?”

Leah laughed, assuming it was a joke. When Fatin gestured for her stand up, she laughed again a little disbelievingly. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, bitch, let’s dance!”

So they danced, swaying haphazardly to the gentle song. Leah had never been much of a dancer—the club had been proof enough of that—but when it was just her and Fatin that was okay. They stepped on each other's feet and bumped foreheads and laughed it off. Just like that.

Fatin spun around and laughed as the piece finished. Leah felt her heart thrumming in her chest and wondered if hers was doing the same.

They were so close to each other.

“Fatin?”

“Hm?”

One moment, everything was normal. The next there was electricity buzzing between them and then they were kissing.

It wasn’t like kissing Jeffrey. He’d always kissed her like it was just foreplay. A bothersome opener for the big show. No, when Leah kissed Fatin she understood what all the poets meant; how it felt like the stars were aligning, the universe clicking into place, a fundamental realization that  _ oh,  _ this was  _ always  _ how it was meant to be.

“Well, shit,” Fatin breathed when they separated. “That wasn’t how I was expecting it to go.”

Leah laughed. “How did you think it was going to go?”

“Oh, you know. Roses, chocolates, a speech. The whole shebang.”

“I don’t have any of those things. But I might be a little in love with you.”

“Thank God. ‘Cause I might be a little in love with you, too.”

Leah grinned and leaned in to kiss her again.

**Author's Note:**

> just so yall know i basically had Delicate by Taylor Swift and The Lourve by Lorde on repeat while writing this. i swear to god they were both written for them.
> 
> hope you enjoyed!


End file.
